Well, I'm not all about throwing a true freshman into the 3 or 4 hole before he's earned it, but at least putting Bregman there makes more sense than all those people who insisted that La'el Collins would be the starting LT in 2011.

quote:Moving Jones to CF was not a crazy idea. It's probably where he is going to play at the next level.

While I agree it wasn't a crazy idea in the least, I disagree that he will play CF professionally. Just because he is a extremely big talent, doesn't mean he will play CF. I think he's found a niche at 2nd. The guy is continuing the great lineage we have at LSU of GREAT second basemen.

When LSU takes the field in a week and a half you may double take when glancing over towards third. Tyler Hanover departs after over 230 starts in his college career, Christian Ibarra the scrappy JUCO transfer with a similar skill set takes over. Coming over from California, Ibarra won the job at third through his superb defense play and the surprising ability to pick up on SEC pitching at such a quick rate in the fall. Similar to Hanover his arm is no where short of spectacular. Christian's focal point is his fluid defense and strong arm as replacing Hanover shouldn't be a problem in the field. Ibarra may hit in the 9 hole if Mainieri wants another lead off type guy towards the bottom of the order. While Christian is only 5'7 he does have surprising pop in his bat and has been known to hit some opposite field shots, however his game is more centered around generally getting on base and a doubles machine. Christian's a workhorse and another veteran bat that will give LSU another look from the plate. Expect to be surprised at how well Ibarra and Bregman hold down the left side of the infield in their first years respectively. Casey Yocom and even Tyler Moore may see backup time depending on how the season progresses.

quote:While Christian is only 5'7 he does have surprising pop in his bat and has been known to hit some opposite field shots, however his game is more centered around generally getting on base and a doubles machine